St. Catharines, Ont. (via Brock Badgers) – The Brock Badgers are champions.
For the first time in program history, the Brock women’s volleyball team holds the title of provincial champions.
The No. 2 Badgers swept the No. 3 Toronto Varsity Blues 3-1 (25-15, 25-17, 17-25, 25-15) to capture the Quigley Cup at Bob Davis Gymnasium in St. Catharines on Saturday, March 19. It’s the first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women’s Volleyball Championship in Brock history.
“This road hasn’t been easy. They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I think that’s what’s happened to us,” said OUA West Coach of the Year Steve Delaney. “Tough times motivated us to work hard to make it back to nationals. I’m just happy we did it.”
The Badgers will return to Calgary, Alberta next week to compete in the 2022 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championships from March 25-27.
In 2020, the Badgers reached the national championships for the first time in program history. However, they never had a chance to step on the court as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt a day before they were slated to compete.
“We remember the pain we felt when we got sent home from nationals in 2020,” Pyatt said. “We worked our tails off to get to this point. Standing here with this trophy, it’s a surreal feeling. It hasn’t sunk in.”
The Badgers opened the first set with a blistering hitting percentage (.462) led by four kills from first-year outside hitter Emily Foest. The second set featured acrobatic digs from second-year libero Aleiah Torres, who finished the match with 22 digs.
Toronto prevailed to win the third set, but there was no doubt for Brock in the fourth.
“We didn’t expect them to battle back,” said outside hitter Sadie Dick. “We knew they were a great team, but going into the fourth set we just told ourselves: ladies, this is our game.”
Setter Sara Rohr racked up 41 assists as Grace Pyatt led the attack with 11 kills. Foest and Madison Chimienti each tallied nine.
The victory extends Brock’s streak to 16-0 wins to set a new team record.
“I feel in shock. We worked our butt off to get here,” said Rohr. “We’re still not done.”
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